Gas Tax

Right now, drivers pay for their roads through the pump, the tollbooth, and the roadside camera — and it never seems to be enough. Will advanced new technology help them pay their fair share, or increase the subsidy they receive from people who walk and roll?

Spoiler alert: They don't

At today's rally, electeds, cities, business and labor all are urging No on Prop 6

Editor's note: Earlier this week, the L.A. Times published an article by usually no-nonsense columnist George Skelton, who, after being "tortured" by a road closure for a triathlon, called for California cyclists to pay a registration fee to support road infrastructure. Skelton asserted that "[cyclists] have been freeloading off motorists who pay gas taxes." Numerous analyses have shown that gas taxes fall short of paying for automotive infrastructure; car facilities, from freeways to parking, are subsidized by general purpose fees and taxes paid for by motorists and non-motorists alike. Friend of the blog Richard Risemberg submitted the following guest editorial that addresses these issues.

As today's Streetsblog USA post related, transit supporters across the U.S. are hosting events today to "Stand Up 4 Transportation." Metro hosted its rally this morning at Patasaouras Plaza at L.A. Union Station. The event featured Los Angeles Congressional representatives Judy Chu and Maxine Waters, and a host of L.A.'s labor, business, and transportation leaders, all calling on congress to renew investment in transportation infrastructure.

Why do people eat so much at buffets? Once they’ve paid to enter, there’s no cost to eating as much as they can – aside from, well, feeling tired and sick.

A new report [PDF] offers suggestions for ways that California could better spend the roughly $28 billion it invests in transportation every year, both to be more cost-effective and to better align with the state's environmental goals.

A new California legislative session started last week with the swearing-in of ten new Senators and 27 new Assemblymembers, the introduction of a hundred new bills between the two houses, and adjournment until January 5.

It's no surprise that the oil industry is fighting California's cap-and-trade program. But it is enlightening to see the strategy laid out in a leaked PowerPoint presentation [PDF].